The!infrastructures!and!services!sectors, and!more!specifically!the!power!sector!of!
Nigeria, has!gone!through!a!precarious!situation!during!the!last!years,!affecting!not!only!its!
economic!development!but! the!living!standard!of! the!population!in! terms!of!basic!service!
deficiencies.!The!Electric!Power!Sector!Reform Act! (2005),!the!Renewable!Energy!Master!
Plan!(REMP!2005), followed!by!the!constitution!of!the!Power!Holding!Companies!of!Nigeria!
(PHCN)! and! the! further! liberalization! of! electricity! markets! with! the! introduction! of! the!
Nigerian! Electricity! Regulatory! Commission! (NERC)! represent! the! undertaken! initiatives!!
to!overcome!the!critical!situation!of!the!power!sector.!
Jigawa! State,! one! of the! poorest! states! of! Nigeria,! presents! extremely! insufficient!
access! to! basic! services to! its! 85%! rural! population.! In! particular,! according! to the! last!
survey! on 2008, the! electricity! access! was! estimated! on! 20%! and! additionally,!the! small!
electrified! portion! of! the! population, have! a! frequently! insufficient! power! supply.!
Therefore,! the! power! sector! reform! is! conceived! as! an! opportunity! also! for! the! state!to!
improve! its! energy! services.! The! development! target of! Jigawa! State! has! identified! the!
necessity! of! enhancing! electrification! as! a! relevant! subject! to! eradicate! poverty! by!
empowering! economic! growth.! It! is! also! conceived! that! achieving! the! millennium!
development! goals! also! goes! throw! improving! basic! services! in! which! energy! and!
electricity!access!plays!a!central!role.!
In! 2009,! the regional government of! Jigawa! State,! in! its! “Jigawa! State! Economic!
Empowerment! and! Development! Strategies”! (J4SEEDS),! has! announced! electrification!
targets! to! be! accomplished! by! two! time! horizons:! 30%! of! electricity! access!with! 10%! of!
local! power! generation! by! 2012! and! 50%! of! electricity! access! with! 50%! of! local! power!
generation!by!2020. The!Rural!Electricity!Board! of! Jigawa!State, aligned!with! the! targets,
has!identified!three!main!areas!for!the!promotion!of!the!rural!electrification!of!the!state:
a.( Local! power! generation! capacity! projects.! Introduction of! Independent! Power!
Producers!(IPP)!projects!and!development!of!off4grid!generation!systems.
b.(Grid!extension!and!power!transmission!improvements.
c. New! sources for! power! supply.! Introduction of! biodiesel! from! Jatropha! Curca!
plantations.
On! this! framework,! this! study! is! presented! as! a! cooperation! project,! sharing!
capabilities!and! responsibilities to! offer! technical! support! on! the!elaboration! of! the! rural!
electrification!master!plan!for!Jigawa!State.!The!cooperating!organizations!participating!in
the!project!are: the! Jigawa!State!Rural!Electricity!Board,!public!authority!of! the!state; the!
Center! for! Renewable! Energy! and! Energy! Efficiency! (ECREEE),! department! of! the!
Economic!Community!of!West!African!States!(ECOWAS); and!the!Cooperation!and!Human!
Development! Research! Group! (GRECDH),! research! unit! of! the! Polytechnic! University! of!
Catalonia!(UPC!4 Barcelonatech).This! study! has! been! conceived! in! two! parts,! the! first! part (Chapters! 1! and! 2! )!
pretends! to! set! the! foundations! of! the! project! by! compiling! the! background! information!
required!to!comprehend!the!relevant!economical!and!socio4political!issues!of!Jigawa!State!
and!its! place! within! the! country,! as! well! as! a! brief! energy and! power! sector! history! and!
prospective,! its! current! regulatory! framework and! its! development! plans! related! to!
electrification.!
The! second! part! of! the! study (Chapters! 3,! 4! and! 5)! presents! a! brief! review of! the!
methodology! for! decentralized! energy! planning! (DEP),! followed! by! its! particular!
application! in! Jigawa! State! with! the! development! of! a! GIS! library! to! assess! the! current!
status! of! electrification! and! enhance! further! grid! expansion! and! off4grid! projects; an
evaluation!of!the!power!generation!strategy is!presented!in!Chapter!5,!considering a!local!
resources!model!with!a!demand!driven!strategy!to!evaluate!the!implications!of!the!already!
started! power! expansion! initiative, based!in! the! addition! of! new!diesel! generation! units,!
against! the! further! inclusion! of! alternative! power! generation! technologies! (diversified!
scenario)!to!accomplish!the!electrification!goals!of!Jigawa!State.!